Greer council approves first reading of bonds for industrial park road

KRISTY EPPLEY

Published: Wednesday, August 19, 1998 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 19, 1998 at 12:00 a.m.

The businesses on Brookshire Road in Gateway International Business Center soon will have a standard industrial road leading to their doors.

Greer City Council in a special meeting Tuesday night approved the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the issuance and sale of $500,000 in general obligation bonds to pay partially for paving the road from Highway 101 to Victory Hill Road. The other $700,000 needed to pay for the $1.2-million project will come from taxes paid by businesses in the park and money left over from an $860,000 bond issuance that paid for initial improvements to the park, City Administrator Ken Westmoreland said. Westmoreland said he does not anticipate the city using tax money to pay back the bonds. He said the money for repayment should come from tax money generated by current and future businesses. He said repayment should take four to seven years. Westmoreland said work on the road could begin as early as September and should take 90 to 120 days to complete. He said the project should not interfere with construction in the area. The two-lane road will have a 28-foot paved surface and will be engineered to handle heavy commercial traffic, Westmoreland said. It will also include a curb and gutter storm drain system, street lights and landscaping. The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport bought more than 700 acres of the park this year. But Westmoreland said the city has an obligation to the business owners in the park to pave the road. He said there are seven buildings on the road currently. Three of them are under construction, and the city expects two or three more to be built this year. In other business: *The city approved the first reading of an ordinance annexing 46 acres on East Suber Road and changing the zoning classification of the property to a multi-family residential use. Westmoreland said currently there is one house on the property and the rest is undeveloped. *Council approved a bid from Carolina Fresh Farms for $9,850 to provide 70,000 square feet of sod for the new ballfield at Century B Park.

<p> The businesses on Brookshire Road in Gateway International Business Center soon will have a standard industrial road leading to their doors.</p><p>Greer City Council in a special meeting Tuesday night approved the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the issuance and sale of $500,000 in general obligation bonds to pay partially for paving the road from Highway 101 to Victory Hill Road. The other $700,000 needed to pay for the $1.2-million project will come from taxes paid by businesses in the park and money left over from an $860,000 bond issuance that paid for initial improvements to the park, City Administrator Ken Westmoreland said. Westmoreland said he does not anticipate the city using tax money to pay back the bonds. He said the money for repayment should come from tax money generated by current and future businesses. He said repayment should take four to seven years. Westmoreland said work on the road could begin as early as September and should take 90 to 120 days to complete. He said the project should not interfere with construction in the area. The two-lane road will have a 28-foot paved surface and will be engineered to handle heavy commercial traffic, Westmoreland said. It will also include a curb and gutter storm drain system, street lights and landscaping. The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport bought more than 700 acres of the park this year. But Westmoreland said the city has an obligation to the business owners in the park to pave the road. He said there are seven buildings on the road currently. Three of them are under construction, and the city expects two or three more to be built this year. In other business: *The city approved the first reading of an ordinance annexing 46 acres on East Suber Road and changing the zoning classification of the property to a multi-family residential use. Westmoreland said currently there is one house on the property and the rest is undeveloped. *Council approved a bid from Carolina Fresh Farms for $9,850 to provide 70,000 square feet of sod for the new ballfield at Century B Park.</p>